Homophobic Bullying Linked To Health Issues

A new study out of Montréal’s Concordia University has linked homophobic bullying to hormonal disruptions that can make youth more prone to memory loss, cardiovascular problems, bone density depletion, and even higher rates of suicide.

The research involved questionnaires and saliva swabs from 63 gay and lesbian youth. Results suggest that participants who endured the most bullying in day-to-day life had a higher rate of cortisol disruptions, which can cause negative health effects.

While I suspect that bullying of any kind would produce such a correlation, GLBT youth are indeed particularly prone to harassment.

Relatively unique to GLBT youth, the study also showed that having supportive family and friends who are responsive to gay issues significantly improved resiliency to homophobic harassment, making support groups a great countermeasure to the hormonal disruptions.

• Study links homophobic bullying to suicide, memory loss [Vancouver Sun]